Two research contractors for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory could enter guilty pleas next week for allegedly submitting false bills to the federal agency for nearly a decade, according to filings in the U.S. District Court for South Carolina.
Greenway Energy and Savannah River Consulting, both of which have agreed to plead guilty, are set to appear in court at 1:30 Eastern Time Oct. 19 in Columbia, S.C., according to a notice posted online Thursday.
Greenway Energy, which does hydrogen research, and Savannah River Consulting, which does “physical research,” according to documents filed Sept. 28 by the U.S. attorney’s office. Between Dec. 1, 2010 through September 2019, the businesses made “demands for payment for employee labor hours, knowing that the claims were false, fictitious, and fraudulent,” according to an “information” — an accusation of wrongdoing akin to an indictment but not processed through a grand jury.
Greenway and Savannah River Consulting, both limited liability corporations, have through defense attorney Johnny Gasser, promised to plead guilty and skipped formal indictment and trial, according to plea agreements filed with the court Sept. 28. Both agreements are signed by Gasser, lawyers for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and an individual named Scott Greenway, listed as a “defendant” for both Greenway Energy and Savannah River Consulting.
Scott Greenway is identified as president of Aiken-based Greenway Energy and a “chemical engineer with extensive experience working on the development and deployment of hydrogen storage systems,” according to a company website.
The potential sentence could include a civil penalty of up to $500,000 plus restitution, according to court documents, according to the plea document.
